


One Turn To Another

by camichats



Series: Imagine James and Sirius Prompts [154]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Divorce, Getting Together, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Sirius Black, Past James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25075798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: James and Lily are getting a divorce. It's amicable, all things considered, but he's still a little lost with what to do with himself. Fortunately, Sirius is there for him.
Relationships: Sirius Black/James Potter
Series: Imagine James and Sirius Prompts [154]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/752925
Comments: 10
Kudos: 103





	One Turn To Another

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: "How Sirius and James will get together if there is no war and at first James married Lily, but after some time both him and Lily of them realised that they are not actyally love each other so strong and etc. Thank you!"

James was sat at the table, wondering what the hell he was going to do. Divorce. 

It wasn't the nicest word he'd ever heard. Despite what everyone might think, he knew that him and Lily hadn't been in love anymore. He hadn't given it much thought though. Relationships changed, that's part of the nature of getting older-- things change with time. So yes, James had known that they weren't in love anymore, but he didn't let it worry him. If he gave it more time, he was sure that they'd fall back in love. He didn't have to ask anyone if that's how relationships were; he thought he knew. They fell out of love, and surely they would fall back in love if he waited. 

Lily said that she didn't think they'd _ever_ be in love, and James had tried to think about it, but then he felt like he couldn't breathe with panic so he stopped. 

So yes, now he was sat at the table, trying to think of what the ever-loving _fuck_ he was going to do. He had to tell his mates that him and Lily had split. He had to find somewhere to live. He had to remember how to clean dishes because him and Lily had split chores, and she had chosen dishes since he agreed to do all the laundry. In a couple months-- or years, or however long it was going to take for him to get past this-- he was going to have to remember how to date. That wasn't a very good thought, but he was so vastly unprepared for that that it seemed an outlandish idea. 

He heard the floo go while he was occupied staring at the surface of the table, and he didn't look up, assuming that it was Lily getting back from grabbing some tea. He wasn't convinced she was actually getting tea every time she said that. Until they stopped living together though, that was going to continue. She wanted time alone, and their room wasn't exactly neutral territory. If she wasn't leaving the house to go out, James would probably be doing it. 

"James? You alright there, mate?" 

Sirius. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered. He was suddenly very aware that his elbow hurt from leaning his head against it. He had no idea how long he'd been sitting like that, doing nothing, but it must have been a while. "What're you doing here?" 

"You were supposed to meet me at the Leaky so I could take you muggle shopping, remember?" 

James looked over at him. It's true that Sirius was dressed in his usual muggle-outing clothes. "Yeah." He'd asked Sirius to take him shopping because the anniversary of his wedding was coming up, and he knew that Lily preferred muggle jewelry to magical jewelry; he'd planned to spend a few hours looking at necklaces and earrings because Merlin knew she deserved it. Getting an expensive gift for your ex-wife wasn't done though, so James should have canceled. The truth was that he'd completely forgotten about it the moment Lily had said the word 'divorce'. "Sorry love, I forgot all about it." It's only after he called Sirius 'love' that it occurred to him that he probably liked Sirius more than Lily. Always had. Lily was bloody wonderful, and he... Maybe Lily had been right about them never being in love. They'd been young, and they'd thought she was pregnant for a while there, but it had felt right, so they'd gotten married. 

"It's alright," Sirius said easily, lounging in one of the other chairs around the table. His legs were splayed out in front of him, and he nudged James's leg with the toe of his boot after he got settled. "What's with you? You normally don't forget about me." 

"I didn't forget about you-- I just forgot we had plans." 

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "It was a joke. You and Lily okay?" 

The word divorce echoed around his head like the hollow of a bell. "We're separating," he said, because that didn't sound quite as bad. 

"Ah," Sirius said. He wasn't surprised. There was an understanding, sympathetic look on his face. "And you didn't see it coming?" 

James shook his head. "I mean, I knew we weren't in love anymore, but I thought that was pretty normal." 

"You thought it was normal to not love your wife?" 

James glared at him. 

"You have to admit that it sounds a little suspect." 

"I thought it was a phase," James grumbled. "We didn't love each other, so what? We'd fall back into it later on. You don't have to tell me that it's a shite idea. I found that out when I mentioned it to Lily." 

"You told her that?" 

James's glare intensified. 

"Not judging," Sirius said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Do you know what you're going to do?" 

"About what?" 

"Well... any of it. What you're going to tell people. How you're going to deal with gatherings where you'll both be there." 

"We're separating; we're not mortal enemies." 

"Yeah, I know, but divorce can change things. Perfectly tolerable habits suddenly annoy the hell out of you." 

"What makes you an expert?" 

"I'm not an expert, but I pay attention. Marlene's parents, remember?" Lily had been Head Girl and was too busy, and Mary and Dorcas had just started dating and she hadn't wanted to bother them. 

James blew out a breath, feeling very tired now that he wasn't propping himself up. "Right. I haven't... I haven't figured anything out yet. Not erm- not yet, anyways." 

"You can stay with me. Merlin knows I've got the space." 

"Really?" 

Sirius gave a crooked smile. "'Course. Can't leave my little Jamie out to dry." 

"We're the same size." 

"Ah, but I'm taller." 

James rolled his eyes. This was a well-worn argument, but one that made him feel better when faced with so much uncertainty. 

* * *

"Hey Lils," Sirius said, busing a kiss to her cheek. 

She gave a weak smile. 

"You alright?" 

"Just-" she shrugged with one shoulder. "I guess I thought that now that me and James have split, you wouldn't..." 

"Wouldn't like you anymore?" Sirius guessed, and she nodded. He snorted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and steering them towards the furniture store. They'd written a few letters back and forth, but this was the first time seeing each other in person since she was trying to avoid seeing James for a little while. This was the first time James had been busy when both Lily and Sirius were free, so he was helping her shop for new furniture for her flat while they had the time. "If I'd only been pretending, I'm sure that would be what happened. Unfortunately, you are quite talented at making friends, and I was helpless to resist." 

"Not sure you've ever been helpless." 

Sirius laughed. "Flattery will do you a world of good, Miss Evans." She'd decided to switch back to her old name, and Sirius knew she was nervous about it. "What are we in the market for today?" 

"Everything?" 

"If that's not an invitation to buy you one of each chair, I don't know what it is." 

"Bloody hell. You're here for heavy lifting, not your opinion." 

"Rude. I have excellent taste." 

"I'm sure," she said dryly. 

* * *

"Do you ever think that love is fake?" James asked, looking up at the ceiling. If the question hadn't been enough to tip Sirius off that James was in a strange mood, the fact that he was lying on the ground instead of the couch would've done it. 

"Fake how?" 

"That we make it up to be this emotion that we all feel but it doesn't actually exist." 

"No. I mean, what about us? I love you. That's real; it's not a fake emotion." 

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." 

Sirius frowned. "I'm lost. How is me loving you proof that love is fake?" 

"Romantic love. It's fake." 

"So... you think that romantic love is fake because we're best mates?" 

"If you can't fall in love with me, no one can." 

"Does what you're saying make sense to you?" Sirius asked, more confused than ever. 

"I love you." 

"Yeah, I love you too." 

"That's not what I meant." 

"Right," Sirius said slowly. "Have you been drinking?" 

James pushed himself up onto his elbows to glare at Sirius. " _No_." 

"Then start making sense." 

"No," he said again, petulantly this time, and laid back on the floor. 

"Okaaay." Sirius wasn't altogether certain that he believed James when he said he hadn't been drinking, so when he was grabbing a cup for water, he checked the firewhiskey. It looked about the same that it had been before, which was good, but it didn't explain what was going on with James. 

He realised the date before dinner. Their anniversary. No wonder James was all twisted up. Maybe he hadn't been in love with Lily for a while, but they'd been together for nearly five years. A change that big was bound to effect you, whether you'd been in love with the person or not when you separated. 

* * *

The divorce had been finalised. Lily had officially moved into her own flat and made it like a home. It had been four months since they'd decided to separate, and it felt like things were going to be okay. It was still a little weird between them, but they were managing. James hadn't mentioned wanting to move out, and Sirius hadn't brought it up. They hadn't officially talked about it, but James was there to stay. He'd bought a new dresser since the last one he'd had was a shared one with Lily and far too big for the other room, and Sirius had helped him move it into his room without questioning the decision. 

At this point, he'd panic a bit if James announced that he was leaving. Sirius liked the company, and he knew that James felt the same. Or at least, he knew that if James minded, he would've found somewhere to live by now. 

"Sirius?" 

"Hm?" He didn't look away from the magazine he was flipping through. 

"Have you ever been in love?" 

"Yes," Sirius said, but that sounded too certain and he didn't want for James to ask too many questions. "I think so." 

"Who?" 

"Does it matter? We're not together." 

Not "we're not together _anymore_ ". It was "we're not together", period. James noticed that little detail. "You never dated?" 

"Does it matter?" Sirius repeated. 

"Who is it? How could you be in love with someone you never dated? Why don't I know them?" 

"What makes you think you don't?" 

"I know you," was James's immediate response. "I'd think that if I saw you together, I would notice something like that." 

Sirius flipped the page of his magazine and said nothing. 

James sighed. "I guess I don't know much about what people look like when they're in love, huh?" he joked. He wasn't mad at Sirius for not telling him, and he wanted to hear that Sirius wasn't upset with him either. 

So Sirius smirked a little and said, "Eh, don't worry about it. I'd like to think I hid it quite nicely." 

* * *

"What are we?" James asked. 

"What are we...?" 

"Yeah." 

"What?" 

"What what?" 

There was a moment where they both paused and frowned at each other. "What the hell are you talking about?" Sirius asked. "You started to ask a question, never finished, and I tried to get you to complete it, and then you stopped making sense." 

"Oh." That's not the way James had experienced it, but whatever. "No, I meant: what are we to each other?" 

"Er, best mates? Flat mates? Friends through thick and thin? Not that I'm sure what the thin or the thick is supposed to mean, but I know it's good that we stick together." 

"...right," James said, subdued. 

Sirius glanced at him, then did a double take at the expression on his face. He looked depressed. Worse than when him and Lily had split, because when that had happened, he was more lost than sad. He'd been sad when his parents died, but they'd been old and gotten sick; they'd all known that it was coming. "Are you sad that we're friends or summat?" 

"Of course not," he muttered, still looking down. 

"Then why are you upset?" 

"I'm not." 

"Oh is that what we're doing now? Lying to each other? Alright, I can get on board with that. I'd like to start with the quote unquote truth of what happened that night I got absolutely sloshed. It all started when I was riding a unicorn through the halls of my ancestral home-" 

"You know that's not what I meant," James mumbled. 

"Of course I do, but you're not talking to me. If you're having doubts about how much I care about you, shouldn't you tell me that straight out? I don't mind telling you. Or-" he said, switching directions as something occurred to him "-is this something you're trying to break to me? Are you wanting to move out? I'd miss you, obviously, but I'm not going to make you stay here if you'd rather live on your own." 

"I'm not moving out." 

"Then what's going on?" 

"Would you go on a date with me?" 

"What?" 

"A date. With me." 

"Are you... sure? That that's what you want, I mean. A date- well that changes things. Whether it goes good or bad, it's going to be different." 

James nodded. "I'm sure. I've been thinking about it for a while." 

Sirius wanted to say yes. More than _anything_ , he wanted to say yes. He couldn't help but think that this was going to be something of a rebound for James, though. The first date after a divorce didn't lead to happily ever after. But he also knew that if he said no, there wouldn't be a second time. James would think that he wasn't interested, and they wouldn't mention it again. "Alright." 

James jerked. "Really?" 

"Sure," Sirius said with a grin. "It's been a while since I've been on a date. We can muddle through the awkwardness together." 

"When have we ever been awkward around each other?" 

"I'm sure we'd find a way. When do you want to do it?" 

"Er, tomorrow?" 

"Alright. What are we doing?" 

"Dinner?" 

Sirius nodded. 

"Indian?" 

"Sounds great. Do I have to get all dressed up for you?" 

James snorted, the rest of the tension bleeding out of his shoulders. "Not unless you want to." 

If that wasn't an invitation to make himself like handsome as all hell, he didn't know what was. 

**Author's Note:**

> And of course they DO end up happily ever after because that's what I'm about-- Sirius is just nervous
> 
> This is from a prompt driven blog @[imaginejamesandsirius](https://imaginejamesandsirius.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Feel free to drop by!


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